COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, November 14, 2022

QUESTION NO. 19

QUESTION: Councillor B. Lawlor

Minister Ryan selected our County to launch the Pathfinder Program from Castletymon Library.  Last year SDCC failed to draw down almost half of the allocated budget for Active Travel, will the Council use its full allocation of €1.15 million for 2022?

REPLY:

The National Transport Authority (NTA) approved funding for over 30 SDCC schemes in 2022 to a total value of €18,158,485. The team are progressing the design and delivery of these schemes. The in house team is expanding and in 2022 we now a have dedicated active travel team, with the necessary programme and project management processes and skills in place to drive forward increased delivery. In 2022 our overall spend will increase from 2021 and we are currently planning to spend between 70% and 75% of 2022's funding allocation. In 2023 we will be in a psotion to increase this spending even further.   

As part of that funding stream, the NTA provided an allocation of €1.15 million for costs associated with the dedicated Active Travel staff employed by SDCC in the design and construction of the schemes. Over recent years the number of staff in Active Travel has steadily increased to the current position where there are 9 staff solely dedicated to Active Travel work. It is anticipated that SDCC will draw down approximately €600,000 to cover those staff costs in 2022.